As the men’s singles quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic entered a fifth set at the Rod Laver Arena, the Spaniard started to limp.
He winced in agony, but continued to walk. But with every point, the world No 1’s condition deteriorated.
Thousands egged him on, as he played two games in the decider. But that was it.
Nadal hobbled out of the year’s first Grand Slam with an upper right leg problem. This was only his second retirement in 264 Grand Slam matches.
His 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 2-0 exit set up a last-four clash for the former US Open champion against Britain’s Kyle Edmund, who stunned third seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The exit was painful to watch and these were some of the initial reactions on Twitter:
There was also a lot of praise for Cilic, who will meet Dimitrov’s conqueror Edmund in the semis.
People hoping for a Federer vs Nadal repeat final were obviously disappointed.
Many also seemed to think the coast is clear for Federer to defend his Australian Open title.
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